Looking west at Broken Top and The Three Sisters in the Oregon Cascades Feb. 2016


“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” -
John Ruskin


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Small Harvest - Garden Choices



 
 
This little container represents our entire black bean harvest in 2013.  It was an experiment - a very small one with only two plants.  After the pummeling hail storm that just about wiped out our garden last season, we were fortunate to even have this tiny harvest.
 
Growing a dried bean crop seems like a good fit for us.  Black beans were something different than anything we have grown in the past.  They have a long growing season to reach maturity which isn't so easy in our climate.  We planted a bush variety  - just two of the three plants I started from seed survived.  It was a fun experiment.  And now I need to decide what to make out of our minuscule harvest!

4 comments:

Julie said...

I am seeing a much larger black bean garden in your future! I grew black eyed peas one year and had about 12 plants and it was so few beans I gave up!!! lol. Keep going though as it is a ton of fun, for sure!!!!!

Sue said...

They will make a great ingredient in a MIXED pot of soup!
:)
I tried growing my great northern bean crop several years ago. I had a great harvest, but the process of shelling them was something I refuse to repeat....unless I can get "wonder hubby" to do it for me. Yea. That sounds like a good idea.......
:D

Coastal BC Stories Books said...

I've grown Scarlet Runner Beans and let them dry on the vine. They make a large dried bean and they don't seem to take as long to grow. I'm not sure about what the cooking result is. I've harvested them, but haven't used them yet. - Margy

Unknown said...

I would like to try black beans. I wonder how much space it would take for enough to have a few meals. Its hard to decide if its worth it. Except for the experience of knowing you can.